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Published on: August 7, 2017

Short- and long-term risk of infections as a function of group child care attendance: an 8-year population-based

Sylvana M Côté1, Amélie Petitclerc, Marie-France Raynault

  • 1Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. sylvana.cote@umontreal.ca

Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine
|December 8, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Children starting large group child care (GCC) before age 2½ experience more infections initially. However, this early exposure appears to reduce respiratory and ear infections later in elementary school.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Child development and care

Background:

  • Group child care (GCC) is common for young children.
  • The impact of GCC timing and type on infection frequency is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if infection rates in the first 8 years of life differ based on the age of GCC initiation and its type.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective cohort study of 1238 families in Quebec from 1998-2006.
  • Compared home care with small or large GCC.
  • Tracked maternal reports of respiratory, ear, and gastrointestinal infections.

Main Results:

  • Children in large GCC before 2½ had more respiratory and ear infections during the early preschool period.
  • These children showed fewer respiratory and ear infections in elementary school compared to home-cared children.

Conclusions:

  • Infections are common upon starting large group child care.
  • Early large GCC (before 2½) may offer protection against infections in later school years.
  • Initial infections in GCC do not necessarily lead to a higher long-term infection burden.
Abstract

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